"The potential fault is a small leak that could develop in the power-assisted braking system ... if there is a leak the car would lose some breaking power but should still be able to stop," the UK spokesman said.

"Not all the vehicles are necessarily affected by the problem" but owners should nonetheless bring them in for checks, the German spokesman said.

No accidents have been reported and a simple parts replacement would clear up the problem, he said.

Last year, BMW sold 1,068,770 of its own brand automobiles and 1,002 Rolls-Royce worldwide.